Story
Kia ora !
Thank you for taking the time to visit my fundraising page. (For my run report scroll down to the bottom)
The London Marathon is one of the biggest events of its kind in the world, both in the number of entrants, the media attention it receives and as a charitable fundraiser. [For details of how I got on running the marathon scroll down to the bottom (I'll try to update the photo next week)]
Over 110,000 hopefuls applied for a space in the official ballot (where you gain automatic entry) and of these only 35,000 were successful. I was not one of the fortunate few, so the only way to realise my dream was to secure entry through a registered charity Gold Bond Entry. Getting a place is an achievement in itself as demand well exceeds capacity.
I will be running in support of a tireless charity called the Putney Samaritans. They were only allocated 7 places and after their rigorous selection process I was fortunate to be chosen to fill one of these. The London Marathon is their single biggest fundraising event, bringing in a third of their annual fundraising target – hugely important to a branch that is made up of 100% volunteers. I am proud to represent them and support the invaluable services that they provide.
The Putney Samaritans are available to provide 24/7 confidential emotional support for people in distress, including those who are suicidal. They were established over 30 years ago and handle 20,000 calls a year as well as providing advice by email. Running as a stand alone charity that has no central funding, they must raise the funds to support their own running costs. To ensure that the Samaritans can continue to maintain a presence in the local community they must raise in excess of £50,000 a year. All donations received will go directly to support the Putney Branch.
My training regime consists of 4 sessions a week including a long weekend run that is currently over 3 hours (30km). Since my focused training commenced in September 2006 I have clocked over 700km in my training so far.
Due to tremondous support and a large donation received a few days before the run, I've given myself a new, but still achievable target. Every £ I raise makes the job that the Putney Samaritans do that much easier.
In donating to this worthwhile cause not only will you help me achieve my dream of taking part in one of the world’s most prestigious marathons, you will also be providing valuable support to those that are in desperate need.
Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me for those based in the UK. My charity, the Putney Samaritans will receive their money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer an extra 28% in tax will be added to your donation at no cost to you!
If you would like any additional information about either myself or the Putney Samaritans please feel free to email me on: kiwishell@gmail.com
Thank you for your generosity.
Michelle 
PS. As part of my training regime I've managed to resist alcohol so far in 2007 - As you can see I'm very dedicated to the cause, go on give me a hand to help me reach my target (I don't except you to give up the drink though!)
The nice weather has made me waiver on my no alcohol resolve, but I'm hanging in there!
FOOTNOTE - MY LONDON MARATHON EXPERIENCE
First the results cause I know that's what your first question will be:
Flora London Marathon 2007 Results runner details
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PERSON |
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Name |
MS WILLIAMS, MICHELLE L (GBR) |
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Runner No.: |
44992 |
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|
|
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Age group |
W30 |
|
TIMES |
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|
10 km |
1:09:31 (This included a 9 minute toilet stop at the 2nd pit stop opportunity) |
|
20 km |
2:14:15 |
|
half |
2:21:09 |
|
30 km |
3:19:57 |
|
40 km |
4:29:08 |
|
finish |
4:44:16 |
My official stopwatch time - 4 hours 36 minutes 00 seconds
From crossing the start line and running over the finish line, excluding waiting in the toilet queue
Yes – as Mum pointed out to me – GBR – what is all that about? Have to say it will be the first and last time I'm ever running representing Great Britain (it's because I didn't get my spot through the international ballot I think) Don't panic I haven't converted!
Sunday 22nd April 2007
Sunday morning, alarm goes off at 6.00am and I bound out of bed - wooo hoo the day had finally arrived!
I biked to work and caught a train from there as the schedules were much better and waited for Rob at Waterloo. We got on a train full of excited/nervous athletes to Maze Hill and from there it was about a 15 minute walk uphill to our starting point. There were three starting areas. The Blue start was where the elite athletes and fast age group runners left from, the Green was were the celebrities were and there was me on the red start. It was quite a festive atmosphere, everyone was pumped up and there was definitely an air of excitement and some nervousness in the air!
I was in the queue for the port-a-loos for the second time and the queues were massive and I was still in the queue when the gun went off for the front of the bunch to start. I was supposed to be in the 7 band for the start but by the time I got to the start area I couldn't get to my area so I was starting in zone 8/9 with runners who had registered slower times. This wasn't so great – not sure how much of an affect it had but for most of the race I was running through slower traffic. It was so frustrating! I only had about 4 or 5 burst with a clear bit of road when I was able to run at the speed that I had trained at. I had a pace wrist band and I managed to be about 2 mins and then 3 mins ahead of that for the first while – then I sort of gave up looking at it – maybe that was a mistake as unfortunately later on I realised that my pace had slipped – but with the warm temperatures and the sheer number of other runners, not to mention it was my first marathon and I had no idea what to expect – I am well proud of my efforts!
The route was lined with masses and masses of people – there were patches near the start that were a bit sparse but from about Tower Bridge onwards there were soooo many people.
I had my loyal team of supporters. Team One was Toni, all the way from New Zealand and also Aimee and Andrew. Team Two was Jo (the banana woman), Bridget and Donna. They were all decked out in their Samaritan T-shirts and Tabbards and were very vocal. I then had another friend Ram who managed to spot me amongst the crush of Canary Wharf (well done on that!) and Jason who spotted me on embankment but I didn't see him. Then there was Merridee who managed to miss both myself and Rob but saw practically every other Samaritan runner! I had another mate Amy that I didn't know was going to be there who had made up an awesome sign and I didn't see her and she didn't see me – but all in all good effort guys!
The run was mostly great – looking back on it is all a bit of a blur and melds into one. Running over Tower Bridge, was just amazing. It was packed and lots of charities had support crews there who were all making a lot of noise. The Samaritans were also there. From about mile 19 it started to get difficult and brain clarity has failed me somewhat, things get a little bit hazy and the timeline can not be entirely relied on. I was so busy concentrating on keeping my legs moving at that point that was all that mattered. My goals were to finish and to finish without walking and I knew towards the end that I wasn't going to make my 3rd goal of finishing under 4 ½ hours but these other two were achievable. Once I was past about mile 25 ½ and I spotted Team Two (I'd been looking for them for about a km, which was pretty tiring at this point in proceedings) my spirits lifted and the realisation came that I was almost there. Team One then popped up opposite Big Ben which was a surprise (I'd been in text communications with both teams during the run so I knew where they were and what side of the road to be on – thanks for that tip Des, it worked brilliantly) with a much needed thrust of enthusiasm which helped carry me towards the finish line. The crowds would have been about 10 thick from here on in, if not more. People were climbed upon fences and post boxes and anything that could be used as a vantage point – and the noise!
Then I got to the Birdcage Walk, I could see Buckingham Palace in the distance and they had signs in a language I could understand 800m to finish (none of this mile or yards rubbish!) and then 600m and by this stage my legs kicked into overdrive and I was in full enjoyment and 'soak it up' mode. Then I came around the corner and into The Mall and there it was – THE FINISH LINE!!!
I kicked into another gear – remembered all I'd read about how to cross the line like a winner and wow!!
I vaguely think the clock was reading 5 hours (remember it took a good 15 mins for me to cross the start line) but then I was waiting to get my timing chip taken off and the wonderful finishers medal was put around my neck – woooo hooo!!
I had to queue for about 10 minutes for my finishers photo but it will be worth it. The finishing area was well organised I got a really heavy goodie bag and then it was up to the Samaritans recovery area. A shower was available almost too quickly – I wasn't quite ready to get out of my running kit. Then a massage and time was flying – I was talking a mile a minute and really just enjoying the elation of the fact that I can now call myself a real 'marathon runner'
We got a finishers shirt in our goodie bag so that and my finishers medal was a necessary to wear for the rest of the day.
Samaritans also provided me with a wonderful massage and then it was time to head back to Southfields to the local pub where I had a group of about 10 of my friends waiting for me (thanks guys). I was on a high and buzzing, the stiffness and soreness of muscles was to come later when I got up to walk home!
But wow, what an amazing experience – one that I can't say I enjoyed for every minute, but the overall experience was just amazing. This will be I can say one of those days that I will be engrained forever in my memory. I am so proud of myself, of all the effort and dedication that I put into training.
I'm proud of my friends and family. You guys are just the best!!! The levels of support I received both in sponsorship and also emotional support and encouragement was beyond what I expected and it's times like this that you realise that little ol' me really does factor in the thoughts of an awful lot of people.
After I started the run, the texts of good luck were still coming in.
You all blew me away- Thank you!
My finishers t-shirt read. "You see impossible. I saw the finish line – Impossible is Nothing"
This is so true- now that I've done this I really feel as if I can do anything that I want to do, whether it be in sport or other parts of my life. Watch out I'm looking for my next challenge and those of you that know me well will be shuddering to think what I'll come up with next!
Lots of Love
Michelle